Link's Father
by Zeldas Quillpen
Summary: It was at that moment, when he stared at the bodies of those Gerudo women, that he realized his purpose for living, when his beloved had fallen. If his son was to be a hero of light, then he was to shield him from the dark by taking it into himself After the death of Link's mother, father and son must travel Hyrule in search of a safe haven from those who wish the hero dead.


People often romanticize the life of a mercenary. Traversing all stretched of land and sea, payed bloodshed, riches- it's an untouchable life with no equal. While this is true, how anyone could idolize it is beyond me. I live in the looming shadows of death- men, women, and children meet the end of my blade with no discrimination- and the more I fill myself with sights and death, the emptier I become.

I never chose this life. In this age, under King Daphnes Hyrule V, no one really has any say in their destiny. Simply put, I was great at taking lives. With my adept swordsmanship and a stealth that enabled me to approach my unsuspecting prey with ease, it was impossible for me to become anything else. It didn't matter if little Adlez of Market Town wanted to be a chef or a ranch hand at his Uncle's Ordonian ranch; a nobleman saw him nearly kill a bully twice his age- the boy was a mercenary.

Throughout the ten years I have traveled, I have seen almost everything the world has to offer, and nary a drop has entered my lips. I've watched children frolic and cling to their mothers, seen couples embrace in matrimony, witnessed the births of friendships, and listened to the hearty laughs for the ages, but I have traveled through it all alone, isolated from the happiness of a world blanketed by the sun's blessing. I've watched mothers cry for the loss of their children, seen couples laying in a pool of each other's blood, witnessed the betrayal of friendships, and listened to agonised screams, but I have traveled through it all alone, isolated from the sorrow of a world that I have created with the edge of my sword.

I…

...Wanted nothing more than to create something more than death and sorrow. I wanted to make life.

That's when I met her.

Her name was Vesa, a priestess of the Temple of Farore in the neighboring, sovereign village of Sadiz. Just as her Goddess was, she was a woman who adored and gave flourish to life. There was a light to her that I can scarce describe, like a flickering candle in the darkness, but a fire that was only warm and gentle to the touch like silk. Whatever she touched became consecrated, as if Lady Mother* herself were at her fingertips. As soon as I saw her, sitting in her wondrous, thriving garden, I knew she was the answer to my mournful melody.

Vesa was fair, as fair as newborn snow, and just as frail, so the priestess mostly sat in her garden or spoke with the adoring children. When I passed through the village, as I often did on my way to and fro the mother country, she was the only one to welcome me with a friendly smile. Her smile lifted my troubles and sorrow, if only for a moment, and soon I found the courage to speak with her.

At first, it was only a quick 'hello', as I was caught by the subtle beauty in the way her brown hair caught the wind just right and hovered from her gently like a dress, and I couldn't quiet my heart long enough to face her. Then, I gradually lengthened our chats until I could fully gaze into her dark blue eyes. We were having conversations- and not about missions, death, and money- about the wonders of nature, types of flowers that smelled the sweetest, the beauty of the sunset- and hanging around; she gave me a tour of the Temple, and of the beautiful garden she cherished. She became my friend, the only one I had ever had since forced into my line of work. I…

I loved her.

Vesa, I learned after a time, felt the same way. After a year and a half of becoming friends, and thenceforth, we learned that she was with child. That was the day I decided to give up the life of a mercenary. No longer would I reap lives from the world, but I would bring life into it. I promised her, myself, and my son that never again would I take the life of a human. For six months, she and I lazed around her garden, connected to everything in Farore's possession. I was one with her and our child and everything that the spring wind graced.

I was happy.

For months, I placed my ear against her stomach and listened to the movement of what would soon be my offspring, a life that I created. The very notion never ceased to cause a grin to soar across my mouth. Hours were spent thinking up names. We agreed that I could name a girl, and she could name a boy; I chose the name Chateau Romani, the name of my favorite drink, but Vesa gave a twisted face like it was a bad name or something. Instead, she chose the name Link…

What a dumb name.

Vesa persisted though, telling me that the name was sacred to her Temple. It was the name of Farore's chosen heroes, the name of the men who saved Hyrule countless times from the clutches of Din's chosen. It was a name synonymous with hope, peace, and heroism. As she explained this silly name to me, I suddenly began to feel deeply for it. This name meant everything I was not and everything that I wanted to be. If a son could make up for his father's sins…

Then, on a December day that would infamously go down as the worst blizzard in history, a powerful and ravenous storm attacked, cloaking all of Hyrule and the villages surrounding it in a blanket of white. Everyone was confined to their homes, and those who lacked one were confined to the Temple. Vesa, her warm heart untouched by the cold, kept a constant look-out for those stuck in the storm to guide them to the Temple, despite my protests for her to remain inside. We stood there, searching for the stranded, as I wrapped her in my arms to keep her safe and warm. We shivered and our teeth chattered, and for the most part Vesa tried to carry a conversation- until she suddenly clutched my arm. Never had three words sent me into a such a dizzy frenzy: "the baby's coming".

I dragged her inside the temple, and right in front of Farore's alter, after five hours of my panic and women rushing around and Vesa's screaming and the winter storms raging against the windows, another soul was born to the world.

There was a silence as the babe cried and wailed. We were all in awe, especially myself, as we the cord was cut and the child was wrapped in an older woman's shawl. I watched, caught somewhere between a swallow and tears, as the baby was handed to its mother, and Vesa cried in overwhelming joy. I crawled over to them and peeked at the tiny creature. By now, it had calmed down and was laying quietly.

"Hi, Link," Vesa greeted the child. I smiled. It was a boy- a beautiful, healthy, bright little boy. "Welcome to the world! I'm your Mama, and this is your Papa. He's a bit of a handful, but between you and me, he'll be alright," she teased. I laughed from my chest and put my hand over my son's tiny head, smoothing over the short, sprinkled patches of thin blonde locks. The tears fell now.

For the next two years, it was just me and my little family. Link grew to look more like his mother than I, with dusty blonde hair and dark blue eyes like the soul of a wolf. His chubby cheeks were just the cutest, and the way his little hands clutched the hilt of his play sword was just as cute. The village elders, as well as Vesa, had also foreseen a great future for him as a hero of Farore. He was active and happy and everything I could have ever asked for. I loved him with the other half of my heart. I was complete.

Though, another change was waiting for me.

It seems, cutting ties to the service of the crown does not go unpunished. When the king found out his best mercenary had broken his contract to live a normal life, he was furious. Once he discovered my whereabouts, he sent his guards to reclaim me… and burn the village down. They were to execute everyone for harboring a traitor- men, women, and children. Luckily for me, the village elders were alerted just before the attack, and aided my escape with my family, but Vesa refused to leave. As the villagers scrambled to flee with their lives, she stood in her garden, tending to her flowers. I begged her to leave, but she refused.

By no choice of my own, I was dragged away by the Temple's independent guards on her order and forced to flee the village. I tried with everything I had to return, to save my beloved, and yet all I could do was yell and kick. My son was silent for the most part, just watching in quiet terror as smoke rose from his home and auburn painted the trees around us- and as his father dipped into despair.

We were taken to a village in Hyrule called Vilhym, mostly isolated from the other areas by a towering mountain. On the other side of that mountain, Death Mountain, was a town known as Kakariko Village, where I had spent many of my childhood summers working in, but that was not the thought stabbing into my mind. All I could do was lay in bed and mourn my lost love. Her face would not leave me, haunting me as I cried out for her every time a nightmare sunk its teeth into me, but there was never a response.

A woman cared for my son as I despaired, but Link always came by to visit whenever he could, sitting in bed beside me and patting my head comfortingly. He tried his best to help me, and he did for the most part, but the feelings of failure and self-hatred could not be vanquished by his soft words. I knew I should have been the one to comfort the boy, but I remained in bed for many days.

Funny, it only took one word to drag me out of my abyss.

"Daddy!" Link screamed from somewhere far-off. I burst out of my bed and immediately headed out of the vacant house. The chill immediately bit into my flesh, but it was only a passive annoyance as I focused my panicking mind on my missing son. "Papa!" It was coming from the Gerudo elder's house.

I darted up the hill-road that was usually so full of life from the village kids, and towards the large house at the top. It hadn't occurred to me as I hurried to my son's cries, but Vilhym, typically bustling with a snow-loving, carefree Hylain tribe, was a ghost town; there was an intense silence thicker than the foot of snow beneath me, and the sharp wind that passed carried nothing but eeriness and hostility.

When I finally reached the house, I slammed open the door, finding my little boy trembling in a corner. The house was dark, and the shadows that crawled along the walls were thick and unnaturally dark, but everything else seemed in place. I quickly made my way over to him and picked him up into my arms. He clutched my shirt and sobbed into me, whining words I couldn't fully understand. It was then that I heard a thick, moist plop.

I turned around.

Two figures stood in the shadows, and before them was a glob of darkness. I took a step back as the glob began to form into some other-worldly creature. It contorted and twisted and grew, before it finally became a leaking liquid-like mass in the shape of a wolf. Link turned to look at the creature and yelled out something I did understand.

"Bad doggie!"

There was a brief pause, a stiff and suffocating air between the beast and I.

Then… go.

I leapt back as the monster pounced on us and hurried for the door. A bar of iron began to close on the door, and in a split-second decision I threw the boy outside, just in time. He called my name, but I slammed the door between us. Instantly, I turned back and rolled out of the way as another pounce came my way.

My mind is blurry of this part, due to my entrance into "mercenary mode" of survival and killing, and all my emotions sunk into the soles of my shoes. I remember still being weak from the days spent in bed and the years of peace, but I was strong enough to slam the dark-manifested wolf down. Without a proper weapon, however, I had no shot at killing the thing.

Then, the wolf had me pinned. I tried with all of my might to escape as it tore into chest, but my weak state made it futile. I gave my everything, but I couldn't push him off. I growled and kicked and pulled and squeezed, but it was useless.

That's when I saw her.

"Adlez…" She whispered, bathed in a golden light. She looked so beautiful, so peaceful. I reached my hand out for her. She took it and placed it on her warm cheek. It was so real, feeling her touch after it had been gone for so long.

"Take me with you…" I had begged, knowing full well where she was.

"I'm afraid your job isn't finished yet… Link's alone in the world, Love. He needs his Papa to save him before he can save anyone else."

She opened her palms, revealing a thin blade laced with flowered vines. I clasped its hilt with my shaking hands, taking one last look at my love. We said nothing, but I instantly felt an aura of forgiveness surround me. And then I felt courage.

Instantly, with the blast of a green light, I jolted up and slashed the wolf, sending it across the room. I clutched my pouring wound and pointed the blade at my opponent. It charged at me, as I readied a strong stance, and just as he came inches away, I sliced him clean through.

The two ends of the split wolf returned to their blob forms and crumbled up before exploding. I then turned my attention to the the two figures. They emerged from the shadows as Gerudo women.

I clenched my teeth. I couldn't kill them; they were people, and women for that matter. My mind raced for a decision as they unsheathed their curved swords and dashed at me. When they swung, I blocked their blades with mine and began a purely defensive battle. No matter how much I dodged and pushed them back, they refused to stop coming. I was getting tired, and the ceiling was beginning to leak more of those globs. If I didn't kill them, I'd be breaking my promise; if I didn't, they would surely kill me and my son.

A life is worth more than a promise.

I'm sorry, Vesa.

I don't really remember what happened after that, as my mind had gone blank and I had lost consciousness, but when I returned to my senses, I was faced with the aftermath of my broken promise. The two Gerudo women lay dead before me, their bodies savagely cut. I backed away, an intense headache consuming my head, and chucked my blade across the room. It wasn't supposed to be like this. No more death… No more destruction… I was supposed to be a normal husband and fath-

...er of a hero- a hero that would bring peace and save Hyrule.

If his destiny was to bring peace with his courage and compassion, then it was my job to bear the darkness and brutality . I would bear the darkness, and leave my son the light, so that he would carry a pure heart in his journey. I understood it then… That was my role, the reason for my living- when she had died.

I had left that place and scooped Link into my arms. I had figured that the other villagers had already been killed, so he and I merely left. Link asked me why I was covered in blood. I gave no reply. He asked me why I was leaving. I gave no reply. He asked me what happened to the other villagers. I gave no reply. He asked me if we were going to be okay. I replied.

"Yes."


End file.
